A day after two gruesome church bombings by the dreaded terror group Islamic State killed at least 45 people and wounded more than 100 others in Egypt, a CCTV video has emerged as a chilling testimony of the incident.

A day after two gruesome church bombings by the dreaded terror group Islamic State killed at least 45 people and wounded more than 100 others in Egypt, a CCTV video has emerged as a chilling testimony of the incident. (Reuters image)

A day after two gruesome church bombings by the dreaded terror group Islamic State killed at least 45 people and wounded more than 100 others in Egypt, a CCTV video has emerged as a chilling testimony of the incident. The macabre images will send chills down your spine. The video shows a man with a blue sweater tied over his shoulders approaching the main gate to St. Mark’s and then being turned away by security and directed toward a metal detector. He passed a female police officer talking to another woman, and entered a metal detector before an explosion engulfed the area. The 20 second-long video is a vital clue to understand the gravity of the incident.

Meanwhile, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has declared a three-month state of emergency in Egypt and ordered military special forces to protect vital infrastructure after the attacks.

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Sisi announced the state of emergency nationwide for three months in a short televised address last night, following the blasts that targeted the minority Coptic Christians on Palm Sunday, one of the holiest days of the Christian calendar.

Before that, Sisi had called a National Defence Council meeting in the afternoon. Chaired by the president and made up of the prime minister, the speaker of parliament, the defence minister and the commanders of Egyptian armed forces, this was the second such meeting in five months, local reports said.

He said that a higher council for fighting terrorism and extremism will also be established.

The Egyptian government in its its initial response has ordered military special forces to assist police in securing vital state facilities across the country. The security forces have been put on alert in anticipation of more attacks.

The Islamic State group claimed the bombings that killed at least 45 people and injured nearly 120 at two churches in Tanta and Alexandria cities as worshippers celebrated the Palm Sunday.

The first blast took place in the Coptic church of Mar Girgis, also known as St George, in the Nile delta city of Tanta, about 120 kilometres from Cairo, and killed 27 people and injured 78, according to the Egyptian Health Ministry.

The blasts have come ahead of the visit of Pope Francis to Egypt on April 28-29, and prompted international condemnation.

Al-Azhar, the world’s highest seat of Sunni Islam, called the attacks an “outrageous crime” against all Egyptians. “This terrorist attack is devoid of all the principles of humanity and civilisation,” it said in a statement.

“The US stands firmly with the Egyptian government and people to defeat terrorism,” the Embassy said in a statement.

Coptic Christians make up about 10 per cent of Egypt’s population of 85 million.

Egypt’s Christian minority has often been targeted by Islamist militants. In December, a suicide bombing claimed by an IS affiliate killed 29 people during Sunday mass in Cairo.

Egypt has seen a wave of attacks by militants since 2013 when the military toppled president Mohammed Morsi, an elected leader who hailed from the Muslim Brotherhood, and launched a crackdown against Islamists.

Palm Sunday falls on the Sunday before the Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels.